I am not sure what to make of this poll . I do have one observation however, if 60% of the people in a country with a population of 26 million thought it was ok to kill American soldiers, one would think they could manage more than 2600 in three years. I think there is a certain amount of come hither go away here.

I have to ask, what the hell kind of question is "Do you think it is acceptable to target American soldiers?" or words to that effect...What kind of reaction is the polster trying to elicit with a question like that? Oh but then again they want us stay at least 6 months to a year to train their forces and they want civilian help to stay on. Is it ok to target them too? Gee they didn't ask.

alMaliki and the government that would not be there if not for the American soldiers they think it is ok to target has high approval ratings in the 80's and there abouts.

curiouser and curiouser.

But for AlQaida the news is far worse:

Overall 94 percent have an unfavorable view of al Qaeda, with 82 percent expressing a very unfavorable view. Of all organizations and individuals assessed in this poll, it received the most negative ratings. The Shias and Kurds show similarly intense levels of opposition, with 95 percent and 93 percent respectively saying they have very unfavorable views. The Sunnis are also quite negative, but with less intensity. Seventy-seven percent express an unfavorable view, but only 38 percent are very unfavorable. Twenty-three percent express a favorable view (5% very).

Views of Osama bin Laden are only slightly less negative. Overall 93 percent have an unfavorable view, with 77 percent very unfavorable. Very unfavorable views are expressed by 87 percent of Kurds and 94 percent of Shias. Here again, the Sunnis are negative, but less unequivocally—71 percent have an unfavorable view (23% very), and 29 percent a favorable view (3% very).

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Interesting George Mason poll on Iraqi attitudes--AQ down, Syria down, Sadr down Iran down.Faith in their own troops up."To sum up - Iraq is coming along better than the news project. Indeed, more and more Iraqis believe that they will be soon ready to stand on their own two feet. This optimistic assessment may to a large degree reflect their disappointment in the efficacy of the American forces but, all in all it is a positive development.

Do remember this when you read headlines accurately reporting that "most Iraqis Want US Troops Out Within a Year and Say US Presence Provoking More Conflict Than it is Preventing."

I think part of that last assertion has to do with the militias. The coalition has been going after the guns for hire and the vigilantes and lots of folks don't like that. The realization that Iraqis would feel that way after awhile might be what prompted the administration to keep troop levels in Iraq as low as possible.

If I was in Iraq and some 'pollster' asked me if attacking Americans was OK, I think I'd agree - because the Americans aren't going to torture and execute me for saying that, while the AQs, Baaths, and Mookies would torture and execute me for saying it was wrong to attck Americans.

Well, asking people who it is "OK" to "target" (which presumably means murder, or at least attack) seems an odd question.

What doesn't seem to be explored is how wide the target list is for this popular sentiment of "OK" to target.

Notfuhnuttin but those folks ain't from around here and they seem to have a very different idea of the value of other people's lives and property. For the most part I suspect the average Abdul Sixpack probably thinks its "OK" to "target" most anyone who isn't part of his clan.

Attitudes that are not acted upon are interesting but aren't something to get too cranked up about. The average Jacque Sixpack probably thingks it's OK to target Americans. As long as the cousins, Jacque and Abdul, are sitting in their cafes and tea houses blathering about things rather than wiring up IEDs or building gummints dedicated to violence against Murricans then we (and they, after all) can live with it.

The point is never to make them love us or stop hating us anything of the sort. The point is to get them to behave within an acceptable range for a civilized world.